Access of disabled persons to communications in the Dominican Republic

Accessibility to information and communication is one of the aspects of disability that is a matter of concern. The challenges posed every day by technological breakthroughs themselves require raising awareness about the realities and needs of this population group, which could easily be excluded from these breakthroughs.

In this so-called Information Age, the population depends increasingly on access to communications. A huge volume of activities are already being conducted on the world telecommunication network, and therefore accessibility for disabled persons and their potential in computerized societies must be considered and safeguarded in order to avoid one further manifestation of the so-called digital divide.

In the Dominican Republic, efforts are being made to provide disabled citizens with digital opportunities. In this regard, the initiatives that are under way, as part of the ideals of social inclusion, are striving to put information and communication technology breakthroughs to the service of promoting equality, permitting access to a digital world free of barriers, and facilitating the development and communication of disabled citizens. As a result, the implementation and access to technologies permitting the free and democratic exercise of the right to information, education and work are necessary to materialize social inclusion, provide equal opportunities, and ensure the democratic exercise of the fundamental right of disabled citizens.

Conceptualizing Disability

Various conceptual models have been proposed to define disability, and they can be expressed by a dialectical contrast between the medical model and the social model. The medical model defines disability as a problem of the person directly caused by a disease, accident or health condition and requiring medical care in the form of individual treatment aimed at healing or changing the conduct of the individual. [1] On the basis of that approach, reforming the health care policy would be the appropriate response.

The social model views disability as a social problem and focuses on the complete integration of persons in society. The disability is not an attribute of the person but rather a complex set of conditions, many of which are created by the social environment. Therefore, tackling the problem requires social action, and it is society’s collective responsibility to make the necessary environmental changes to ensure the full participation of disabled persons with equal opportunities in all areas of social life.

The United Nations Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities sets forth the principle that all citizens have equal dignity and, as a result, are the holders of the same rights, and therefore it is the responsibility of the State and society to guarantee that resources be shared equitably. These rules are also based on the concept of disabilities fostered by the environment, which implies that a disability may be created by the interaction of disabled persons with their environment. The causes may be the deficiencies stemming from the physical environment or the gap between the service offered by society and the real needs of disabled persons. [2]

In all societies of the world, there are still obstacles preventing disabled persons from exercising their rights and liberties and hindering them from participating fully in the activities of their respective societies, and it is the State’s responsibility to adopt the measures that are needed to dismantle these obstacles.

The approach has evolved from view of disabled persons as “the problem” toward one that recognizes that disabled persons also have skills and, as a result, have the same rights to participate fully in society, with equal opportunities. The achievement of equal opportunities is viewed as the process whereby society’s diverse systems, the physical environment, services, activities, information and documentation are made available to all, especially disabled persons.

According to data from WHO, about 600 million persons, that is, 7-10% of the world’s population, have disabilities, and 80% of these persons live in developing countries. In the Dominican Republic, according to the results of the 2002 National Population Census, it is estimated that 5% of the population has some kind of disability, and of these, 56,000 (14%) are children and adolescents from 5 to 19 years of age. [3] Of these, 14% have a visual impairment, 11% a hearing impairment, 24% a physical-motor disability, 11% a mental handicap, and 39.5% other disabilities.

Legal and standard-setting framework for access to information by disabled persons: Act 42-2000

In the nineties, Act 21-91 was enacted, establishing the National Council for the Prevention, Rehabilitation, and Education of Disabled Persons (Consejo Nacional para la Prevención, Rehabilitación y Educación de las Personas con Minusvalías—CONAPREM). Because it was not a comprehensive law, after extended reviews and debates with all sectors (government, institutions for the disabled, and services for the sector of the disabled), a new bill was drafted, one with a broader and more modern vision. It was on that basis that Act 42-2000 establishing the National Disabilities Council was enacted.

The National Disabilities Council (Consejo Nacional de Discapacidad—CONADIS), which is the leading institution in charge of drawing up policies to protect the rights of disabled persons and improve their quality of life, has among its objectives the task of facilitating the access of disabled persons to information and communication, namely:

- To promote and disseminate the concept of a country without barriers in terms of communication and information.

- To raise the awareness of the general public and the media, whether radio, press, television or telecommunications, to facilitate access of disabled persons to communication and information.

- To promote the concept of universal design in expanding and implementing information and communication technologies that permit disabled persons to gain access to them.

Institutional Initiatives

To progressively guarantee accessibility to information for all persons, institutions from different sectors are now experimenting with technological breakthroughs that facilitate communication. Among these institutions, there is the Dominican Foundation for the Blind Fundación Dominicana de Ciegos—FUDCI) which has a Braille press to print the basic education textbooks issued by the State Secretariat for Education. Likewise, literary works and legislative texts that are important for disabled persons, such as Act 87-01, have been translated. The FUDCI is also developing an initiative called “Libro Hablado” (Spoken Book) aimed at recording various types of educational and general publications. The institution also has a computer laboratory with computer adapted to visually impaired persons, using the Jaws system, for training visually impaired persons.

The Institute for Help to the Deaf (Instituto de Ayuda al Sordo) has programmable analog and digital earphones, with an FM system and personal amplifiers, which make it possible to block out background noise and echoes, as well as keep up the amplification level needed to make it easier for every person to hear, regardless of the distance of the sound source. This institution is also carrying out the Technological Literacy Project (Alfabetización Tecnológica—ALFA-TEC) geared to extend the appropriate use of information technologies to a larger number of deaf users from the National District and the province of Santo Domingo.

Other institutions, such as the National Organization for the Blind (Organización Nacional de Ciegos) and the Olga Estrella National Center for Educational Resources for Visual Impairments (Centro Nacional de Recursos Educativos para la Discapacidad Visual Olga Estrella) have technologies that are specifically adapted to different types of visual impairments.

Likewise, through nongovernmental institutions working with persons with hearing impairments, a Project for the Socialization of Communication is being developed, aimed at contributing to the establishment of a more socially balanced society and with better opportunities to enhance the productivity, efficiency, and development of disabled persons and their environment.

Finally, as a result of the initiatives of the National Commission for the Information and Knowledge Society (Comisión Nacional para la Sociedad de la Información y el Conocimiento—CNSIC), which is an entity that is fighting to ensure social inclusion, initiatives are being developed for the exchange of technology to help disabled persons, including, albeit not confined to, the optical mouse for persons with physical and motor disabilities and software for sign language interpreting that converts sign language into written and voice texts with the help of a computer, thus making ICTs available to persons with hearing impairments and speech difficulties.

Rosa Peña Paula
Executive Director
National Disabilities Council (Consejo Nacional de Discapacidad—CONADIS)

NOTES:

[1]: World Health Organization. International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health, 2001.

[2]: United Nations Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities.

[3]: Data provided by the National Statistics Office (Oficina Nacional de Estadísticas—ONE), drawn from the database of the 2002 National Census.